HRA's Snider will swim at Davidson

Freestyle specialist Ari Snider of Hampton Roads Academy recently signed a national letter of intent to swim for Davidson College.

Snider, a senior, will join a Davidson team that won the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association championship last year.

Snider is a co-captain of HRA’s boys team, which won the VISAA Division II state championship last year. Last season, he made the Tidewater Conference all-star team in the 100-yard freestyle and the 200 and 400 free relays. He was the 50-yard freestyle swimmer on the Daily Press All-Stars and part of HRA’s all-state 200-yard free relay.

Coach Jeff Scott said, “Ari is the consummate team player and always brings out the best in his teammates. He has been a leader for our team throughout his swimming career and prides himself on being a great role model for the younger swimmers.”

One of the assistant coaches at Davidson is Josh Graham, a Newport News native who previously coached at South Eastern Virginia Aquatics on the Peninsula.

Nansemond-Suffolk Academy

Macy Mears, a senior at NSA, was one of four winners of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame’s Student-Athlete of the Year award.

Mears and others from around the state were honored at a banquet at the hall in Portsmouth on Dec. 1. She was selected as the high school girls winner from five finalists.

Mears plays softball and basketball and has run cross country at NSA. She has been a Tidewater Conference all-star in softball since eighth grade and was named second-team All-TCIS in basketball. She is a member of the National Honor Society.

Denbigh Baptist

Denbigh Baptist’s Sam Thomas made the all-tournament team at Walsingham’s Thanksgiving tournament. In a first-round loss to Walsingham, Thomas scored 26 points and pulled in 10 rebounds. Playing sparingly in a consolation-game victory against Peninsula Catholic, Thomas scored 14 points and had five steals.

Walsingham Academy

Billy Barnes was the most valuable player of Walsingham’s annual Thanksgiving tournament, and Kai Brown and Miguel Kissoon joined him on the all-tournament team. Others on the all-tourney team were Thomas of Denbigh Baptist, C.J. Boykins of Peninsula Catholic and Evan Dougood of Hampton Christian.

Walsingham beat Denbigh Baptist 71-43 in a semifinal and Hampton Christian 68-44 in the championship game. Barnes scored 21 points in the championship game, including three 3-pointers. ...

Former Walsingham standout Greta Luksyte is playing professional basketball in England.

After playing a year in Spain, she has played for the Leeds Carnegie team in Britain’s EBL2 league since 2011. In a recent game, Luksyte scored 22 points in a 104-51 victory over the Mansfield Giants.

Luksyte played for two VISAA state championship teams at Walsingham, then played for UNC Wilmington for four years. At UNCW, she set school records for most games played and free-throw percentage.

Christchurch

Christchurch senior basketball standout Devin Robinson, who has signed with the University of Florida, is highly regarded by recruiting services.

Rivals.com ranks him No. 20 in the country, while ESPN has him No. 28. Scout.com lists Robinson as the fifth-best power forward in the Class of 2014.